


A Cold, Misty Day

by EurydicaeQuercus



Series: Enasalin is supposed to mean Victory [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Abominations (Dragon Age), Gen, Mystery, Nice Ambominations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 15:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18693922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EurydicaeQuercus/pseuds/EurydicaeQuercus
Summary: Enasalin has been asked to investigate a small settlement by Lake Calenhad by her old friends, Alistair and Anora. What she finds there is something she never expected.





	A Cold, Misty Day

Enasalin shivered slightly as she made her way down to the pier of Lake Calenhad. It was a cold autumn day, and the fog was still rolling in off the lake, in the pale light of dawn. Everything seemed dyed in a grim, listless grey, as the sun shone cold through the clouds. Her thick woollen uniform did little to stave off the chill that permeated the air all around. 

Enasalin wasn’t sure whether the chill was necessarily in the air or just in her, but either way, she felt herself unconsciously folding her arms, trying to conserve body heat as she made her way down to the small smattering of houses near the pier. In the distance, the Kinloch Hold rose high into the air, on the other side of the lake, rising up through the fog. The entire settlement seemed to give off an aura of ominous tranquillity, as though even the smallest sound would cause an explosion. A bit like Haven, now she thought about it. 

It made sense, of course. She hadn’t been sent there because it was a perfectly peaceful settlement with nothing untoward happening at all. It had been a request from Anora, and though Enasalin wasn’t beholden to her as a Warden, she knew the task would also be troubling Alistair, and she  _ was _ beholden to him, as a friend. Apparently, people from hereabouts had recently been seeing strange lights from this settlement, and those in Kinloch Hold and the docks had apparently been hearing long, drawn-out wails that carried across the lake at night. It probably wasn’t darkspawn activity, but it was certainly worth looking into. 

As she grew closer though, and the houses began to take shape through the fog, the more she felt she should have brought some sort of backup with her. The houses weren’t being lived in, that much was clear. Though they were still standing, most of them were old and rotted, with large chunks of the roofs and walls missing and no sign of any residents within. The settlement had been utterly abandoned. Strange. 

Enasalin had never been to this place before; she didn’t know how long it had been empty, or whether or not to be worried about the lack of residents, but she did know that something about it chilled her to her very bones. She let her hand rest on the dagger at her waist. It was always best to be prepared, after all. 

As she approached the nearest of the small cluster of houses, she remained on her guard. No sign of strange lights and wailing voices just yet, but a deep sense of wrongness that permeated the air all around.  _ Something _ had happened here. She just had to figure out what. With a cautious step, she pushed open the slimy old door of the first house. 

She immediately stepped away from the entrance, waiting for something to come springing out of the darkness towards her, but nothing came. She looked intently at the entrance to the house. No sign of tripwires or other hidden traps. Taking one last glance behind her, checking to make sure no one had tried to sneak up behind her, she stepped into the house. 

She surveyed the scene within. No dead bodies: which was a relief, just abandoned furniture. There was an unlit fireplace in the corner. At first, Enasalin merely glanced over it, and was about to turn away when something caught her gaze. Although the fireplace wasn’t burning, it had been recently. Most of the inside of the house was covered in an unpleasant damp due to the fog, a slick, slimy wetness seemed to permeate the whole structure. But not the fireplace. It was dry, and within were the faint signs of burnt out ashes. Someone had been...camping here? 

She moved over to the fireplace and knelt down next to it. She reached out to touch the edge of the fireplace, then examined her glove. No dampness whatsoever. Magic. It had to be. She could probably reach out and check it herself, but she was close enough to the Circle that the idea made her uneasy. But who was causing it? Might they also be the cause of the strange lights and the wailing over the lake? But why? Why would a mage draw such attention to themself so close to the Circle? Something didn’t add up. 

Suddenly, she felt a small, cold hand on her shoulder. 

She froze. She hadn’t heard this person sneaking up on her. They’d just...appeared, out of the blue. This had to be the mage she was looking for. But who were they? She didn’t dare turn around.

“Are you here to help me?” 

Their voice was high-pitched and quiet...almost child-like. Enasalin slowly turned her head to look at her attacker. She frowned as she saw who they were. 

Standing behind her was a young human girl, no more than thirteen, only she didn’t look... _ entirely _ human. Not really. Her eyes were glowing with a strange white light, which seemed to flow under her skin, lighting her up from the inside out. Her short blonde hair was in disarray, and her clothes; more specifically, her  _ robes _ , were torn and dirty, and yet there was a disarming smile on her face, as though nothing was wrong. She was still waiting for an answer. 

“I don’t know,” said Enasalin, slowly rising to her feet, which made the girl let go of her shoulder. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hope,” said the girl, and when she said her name her voice seemed to change, almost imperceptibly. 

“Is that  _ your _ name, or  _ their _ name?” asked Enasalin, slowly starting to piece together precisely what must have happened to this child. 

“Both!” said the girl, still smiling. “And neither! There is no ‘you and them’ anymore.”

“What happened to you, Hope?” asked Enasalin, deciding it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to antagonise the spirit or demon or whatever it was straight away. 

“I escaped the Tower,” she said, now in a very grave, solemn voice. “I swam across the lake. It was very cold, and I was very lonely, but then the other Hope found me! I’m not alone anymore. But I can’t find anyone else here. I’m very hungry.”

“I can imagine,” said Enasalin, bending down to the child’s level. “Why did you leave the Tower, Hope? Was it hard for you to be there?”

She had to know exactly what had happened before she could proceed. She couldn’t return the child to the Tower as she was though, that much was certain. They would probably just kill her. 

“The other children didn’t like me very much,” said Hope, her voice trembling ever so slightly. “They thought I was strange. I thought outside would be better.”

“Did you plan to do anything once you were ‘outside?’”

“No, I just knew I had to leave.”

“I see.”   


“But you’re here to help me now!” she said, now smiling again. “Aren’t you?”

Hope indeed. She was in a difficult position. Had the girl not been a...well, little girl, she would have brought her back to the Tower to recruit her, since she’d be far safer among the Wardens as an abomination than in the Tower. But this was a child! She couldn’t, in good conscience, bring her back to the Wardens, and she certainly couldn’t recruit her. A dilemma, to be sure.

“You’re worried about something,” said Hope, looking up at her with large, glassy eyes. 

“Yes,” said Enasalin, then sighed. “Follow me, Hope. I can keep you safe, for now.”

Hope just smiled widely and nodded, clearly overjoyed. This was going to be interesting. 


End file.
